Spring in the city. I love walking by parks and seeing people relaxing.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
True beginnings - spring in puddletown
Well, spring is finally arrived. will it last? probably not. we'll probably have some sort of freak snow storm at the beginning of may or something. oh well, i am going to enjoy the flowers and the smells and the growing grass and the influx of life. it's great to see the little ones run frantically throug the growing grass and playing.
today, after some work training and a visit with the teeth torcherors, i ventured home a long way. with the emerging sun, i decided to walk - yes, i'm going to walk home. i know it's been awhile, but quit picking on me..... i began in the lloyd district and ventured over to n.e. MLK and then north. in lloyd, MLK is pretty busy and dangerous. not much to report here. once i crossed n.e. broadway, i began to feel like i was entering a neighborhood. granted, i was still on MLK, but it was like crossing some sort of barrier. as i proceeded i began to thing - what is the difference between this area and my neighborhood? not much. the difference is that mlk is a busy street. no one, no matter what they say, wouldn't want to live on a busy street like mlk, powell, burnside, sandy, etc. there's just to much noise, traffic, and other crap that follows. mlk is notorious for being known in all of portland as where prostitutes hung out. when i was a teenager, it was explicitely stated - mlk and north portland are off limits- dangerous - gangland etc. i digress.
i wanted to highlight some great locales on mlk for anyone not familiar with the area. want a nice workingman's hangout? hit the Neighborhood Dive -
a great place to sit at the bar, have a nice cold Pabst Blue Ribbon and watch a game. the clientele are accepting and fun.
Queen of Sheba offers traditional ethiopian food. we discovered QOS a few years back when it was first opening. the owners are a wonderful couple and family and treat you as if you were in thier home. the food is amazing and flavorful. lamb, okra, salad, spice, lentils, etc. all of this is served upon a moist spongy flat bread which you used with your fingers to pick up the goodies and feed yourself and your partner. it is tradition for families and lovers too feed each other in this way to show affection and love. props to QOS.
as i round n. russell, i come upon Russell St. Bar-B-Que.
am i blogging to much about my 30 minute walk? tough - just deal with it.
i am looking forward to the opening of this locale. every city needs more locations for music. even if this isn't our type of music or performance, it will bring culture into the hood.
when i came upon n. williams, then fremont and then mississippi, i kept feeling i had already told you about this area. granted, things are changing, so i will be monitoring the change. i did come accross something i haven't blogged about in awhile - random clothes:
night night.
today, after some work training and a visit with the teeth torcherors, i ventured home a long way. with the emerging sun, i decided to walk - yes, i'm going to walk home. i know it's been awhile, but quit picking on me..... i began in the lloyd district and ventured over to n.e. MLK and then north. in lloyd, MLK is pretty busy and dangerous. not much to report here. once i crossed n.e. broadway, i began to feel like i was entering a neighborhood. granted, i was still on MLK, but it was like crossing some sort of barrier. as i proceeded i began to thing - what is the difference between this area and my neighborhood? not much. the difference is that mlk is a busy street. no one, no matter what they say, wouldn't want to live on a busy street like mlk, powell, burnside, sandy, etc. there's just to much noise, traffic, and other crap that follows. mlk is notorious for being known in all of portland as where prostitutes hung out. when i was a teenager, it was explicitely stated - mlk and north portland are off limits- dangerous - gangland etc. i digress.
i wanted to highlight some great locales on mlk for anyone not familiar with the area. want a nice workingman's hangout? hit the Neighborhood Dive -
after your pabst, you may be a bit hungry. if so, head accross the street to Echo -
Echo is a new restaurant that offers a full bar and dinner at night. A and I had the vodka infused oyster shooters that were trully amazing. i also remember enjoying the atmosphere and food. most recently, i've been back for cocktails, but not for dinner. Echo too has suffered from being a gem in an area where the neighbors are craving crushed stone. up the street is one of our favorite restaurants in portland - Queen of Sheba -
as i round n. russell, i come upon Russell St. Bar-B-Que.
I have not had the honor of visiting this establishment, but have heard wonderful reviews. with A being a lacto-ovo-pesca-vegatarian - i'm limited in where we can go for din din. and i respect her because she keeps my waistline in check.
down russell, i came accross a new ballroom some portland guys are working on. if my memory serves me right, i believe meow meow used to be next door and the had to close for one reason or another. the ballroom - 
when i came upon n. williams, then fremont and then mississippi, i kept feeling i had already told you about this area. granted, things are changing, so i will be monitoring the change. i did come accross something i haven't blogged about in awhile - random clothes:
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Brett tars Yankees - briefly.....
yup, i tarred the yankees. me...brett..tar....yankees.....
today was a little depressing, but also some fun. the day began with the belief that there would be sun. yesterday it was 70 or so. today, the dogs woke up to overcast. i thought it would burn off, so i ventured off to home despot to pick up supplies for the day's outdoor adventures. 1 hr later upon return home, i was greeted by a contant rain. i tried to do some work outside - re-nailing and securing facia trim to the porch posts - but the rain started coming in sideways and that just got me wet. and as you know, i melt when i get wet.
after walking around the house for about an hour trying to figure out what to do next, i decided to grab some lunch and do some shopping. had to get crab for evening dinner. also some wine. McGinn's helped me out. i love talking to a wine guy and saying - i need a "cleaning out the basement" wine and he knows just what to recommend. i also picked up my new fav - Vinzena - yum.
ok, so back home - have i accomplished anything today? uh....no. so, i decided to take a nap with the pups and then head to the basement to do some clean up and organizing.
love bug came home from her venture around 6 and we had wonderful crab and wine for din din. i then proceeded back down into the dungeon - the basement - to continue work. cutie came and joined me and we had a fun hour or two listening to some cool music and going through boxes of schtuff. there were boxes of reciepts from 1998 and bank statements from our teenage years. there were boxes of books that we read in 2001 and have never seen since. then came the boxes of childhood photos and memories for both of us. in one of my boxes, i came accross the above news clipping. i don't have a date, but i fully remember the season.
back in the day - 80's for sure - George Brett and the Kansas City Royals were at the top of thier game. since George and I share a common name, i naturally became his biggest fan. it didn't hurt that he was at the peak of his career and had a batting average of 4.00 or something (like i know what that means....) the local rag - the boregonian - did a wonderful job of reporting Brett's accomplishments and i cut out and filed any and all news clippings related to mr. Brett. he even had his own section - the Brett Report- or something like that - that tracked his batting. I remember how excited i felt because my name was in the paper and in headlines daily for the whole season. i don't know what happened to my whole file of articles, but i'm glad i found the above clipping as my buddy jaek is a yankees fan.
we also discovered that we have $165.oo in change in our laundry jar.
hopefully tomorrow the rain will subside enough for us to venture out with the dogs. i gotta get some walking in this weekend. granted, i did do some walking around the house - for a total today of 9245 steps. well done!
propers to Gravy for breakfast, The Doug Fir for lunch and Newman's Fish Market for din din. Also jim beam for late evening schpronk.
today was a little depressing, but also some fun. the day began with the belief that there would be sun. yesterday it was 70 or so. today, the dogs woke up to overcast. i thought it would burn off, so i ventured off to home despot to pick up supplies for the day's outdoor adventures. 1 hr later upon return home, i was greeted by a contant rain. i tried to do some work outside - re-nailing and securing facia trim to the porch posts - but the rain started coming in sideways and that just got me wet. and as you know, i melt when i get wet.
after walking around the house for about an hour trying to figure out what to do next, i decided to grab some lunch and do some shopping. had to get crab for evening dinner. also some wine. McGinn's helped me out. i love talking to a wine guy and saying - i need a "cleaning out the basement" wine and he knows just what to recommend. i also picked up my new fav - Vinzena - yum.
ok, so back home - have i accomplished anything today? uh....no. so, i decided to take a nap with the pups and then head to the basement to do some clean up and organizing.
love bug came home from her venture around 6 and we had wonderful crab and wine for din din. i then proceeded back down into the dungeon - the basement - to continue work. cutie came and joined me and we had a fun hour or two listening to some cool music and going through boxes of schtuff. there were boxes of reciepts from 1998 and bank statements from our teenage years. there were boxes of books that we read in 2001 and have never seen since. then came the boxes of childhood photos and memories for both of us. in one of my boxes, i came accross the above news clipping. i don't have a date, but i fully remember the season.
back in the day - 80's for sure - George Brett and the Kansas City Royals were at the top of thier game. since George and I share a common name, i naturally became his biggest fan. it didn't hurt that he was at the peak of his career and had a batting average of 4.00 or something (like i know what that means....) the local rag - the boregonian - did a wonderful job of reporting Brett's accomplishments and i cut out and filed any and all news clippings related to mr. Brett. he even had his own section - the Brett Report- or something like that - that tracked his batting. I remember how excited i felt because my name was in the paper and in headlines daily for the whole season. i don't know what happened to my whole file of articles, but i'm glad i found the above clipping as my buddy jaek is a yankees fan.
we also discovered that we have $165.oo in change in our laundry jar.
hopefully tomorrow the rain will subside enough for us to venture out with the dogs. i gotta get some walking in this weekend. granted, i did do some walking around the house - for a total today of 9245 steps. well done!
propers to Gravy for breakfast, The Doug Fir for lunch and Newman's Fish Market for din din. Also jim beam for late evening schpronk.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Up late
just returned from a show at the doug fir. love the doug! the band we went to see was telephone and they did a good job. i think we'll see them again in the near future. today was a good day, nothing extraordinary, but fun. i did get some steps in and did some mississippi walking to boot. good night and sleep well all. 10535 steps today.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Garden in the city
walking today at lunch and came accross this small concrete garden bed over by the big pink us bank tower. they have red and yellow chard growing in the box. i wonder if that's intentional and if it is meant to be picked and eaten. more public spaces should have fresh veggies growing in them!
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Almost famous...
or almost arrested. today i did something that may have gotten me in trouble with "the man." i felt at the time it was the noble thing to do, but i'll let you decide. as you know, i walk and i walk a lot around downtown. lately, there have been numerous stories and reports about Portland's finest handing out jaywalking tickets. wow, they don't have the resources to arrest the kids who beat up my neigbor, but they can track down businessmen and women and give them jaywalking tickets. i digress.... well, today, i walked up to the post office on SW broadway and was minding the walk/don't walk signs. by the micky d's on sw 6th and main i stopped for the don't walk sign and did some obervationizing. accross the street was a blind man whom stopped also for the don't walk sign. i began to wonder - how will he know then to walk? just before the sign changed, a woman walked up next to him and when the sign changed, she proceeded and he did also. at that moment, i proceeded accross the intersection also. i then saw the BMW turning into us. I was about 1/4 way through the intersection and the car was coming toward me! in my new fervor for walking, i stopped suddenly and confronted the car and owner, yelling, THIS IS A CROSSWALK! THIS IS A CROSSWALK! the blue har paused for a second and then began to maneuver around me. it was then that i broke and turned, looked her in the face and pounded on the window yelling forcefully - YOU ALMOST RAN OVER A BLIND MAN! she took off at that point. i was so angry i was shaking. now, mind you, i'm not a small man. i probably scared the living shit out of the west hills living, bmw driving, crosswalk crossing blue hair that she was immediately on 911 calling for backup.
i proceeded into the post office and dropped off my package. if you're a driver out there, i am not your enemy. trust me, if you hit him, i will go down and probably be injured as 2000+ of metal is bigger than bretty. don't get me wrong, i'm not a "walk nazi" like some of those bike people. i drive too. i'm just going to be a bit more aggressive when someone pushes me.
final statement removed per google's request - ever read george orwell?.
i proceeded into the post office and dropped off my package. if you're a driver out there, i am not your enemy. trust me, if you hit him, i will go down and probably be injured as 2000+ of metal is bigger than bretty. don't get me wrong, i'm not a "walk nazi" like some of those bike people. i drive too. i'm just going to be a bit more aggressive when someone pushes me.
final statement removed per google's request - ever read george orwell?.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
De Sun! De Sun!
ala "da plane, da plane" from Fantasy Island. i was so excited to have some dry weather, i cut my beer drinking down yesterday afternoon to just 1 pitcher with jaek. i got out in the yard and mowed. now, mind you, i am not a lawn guy. if i had my druthers, it would all be plants and barkdust and rock. no grass! but, i haven't done that yet, so i have to keep mowing. i have a first generation electric mower with a blade that hasn't been replaced since purchase. we got it at an estate sale for $7. it works just fine for my needs. once finished mowing, i decided to start ripping out some grass to build a path. bad idea. i got about 30% done and realized i didn't want to do it that night. you'll probably see me working on that next in june as i will go out there every evening and see my half-assed unplanned work and moan and go do something else.
with the change in weather this week, i'm going to try and accomplish the following:
prime and paint my remodeled soffits and re-install the gutters.
clean up the driveway
clean up the scooter and evaluate if it's salvagable for summer fun (5th spring i've done that)
install bamboo screen on front porch
lay plastic/weed barrier in back so fennell and rasberry don't take over.
that's probably enough for this week. i understand it is supposed to begin raining again on saturday, so we'll see what transpires. i am going to get out this week and do some walking. i miss the walks home the most.
with the change in weather this week, i'm going to try and accomplish the following:
prime and paint my remodeled soffits and re-install the gutters.
clean up the driveway
clean up the scooter and evaluate if it's salvagable for summer fun (5th spring i've done that)
install bamboo screen on front porch
lay plastic/weed barrier in back so fennell and rasberry don't take over.
that's probably enough for this week. i understand it is supposed to begin raining again on saturday, so we'll see what transpires. i am going to get out this week and do some walking. i miss the walks home the most.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Cherry brandy from cuba?
Good evening all. didn't do much walking this weekend- bad me. we did have some fun with our new friends from the comic book store and enjoyed some great wine.
Regarding the bottle to my right...a few years back, 7 or so, we used to hit estate sales weekly. we came accross one in ne portland and while purchasing some bar items, the purveyor of the sale approached us offering access to the liquor cabinet after hours. upon our return, the cabinet doors opened and we were offered everything from about 30-50 years of alcoholism. we aquired the following:
1 bottle Paul Mason Champagne from the 70's - turned out bad.
1 bottle French Wine from the 70's - still awaiting opening.
2 decanters of whiskey with tax stamps from the 30's/40's - opened quickly after purchase and consumed.
1 heart shaped bottle of sherry - passed on to friend.
2 bottles of Hennessey Cognac - passed on to friends.
1 bottle of Cherry Brandy - to the right - silver leafed with a lable on the back stating a physical store address in Cuba - tax stamp of 1958.
We still have the Cherry Brandy and I haven't ever really done any research on what it is, where it's from, etc? I've always thought of taking it to antique's roadshow, but then ignored that thought. Anyone out there in internetland knwo what this is? Any thoughts on where to find more information on it?
Why do I post this now? Lately, we have enjoyed some amazing wine. We have some bottles of wine that we've had since our marriage and I wonder if they've peaked and should we finally open them and enjoy them. Same with this Cherry Brandy - should we go ahead and open it and enjoy it? Should we indulge?
It appears the rain may subside this week. Pray for sun.
Regarding the bottle to my right...a few years back, 7 or so, we used to hit estate sales weekly. we came accross one in ne portland and while purchasing some bar items, the purveyor of the sale approached us offering access to the liquor cabinet after hours. upon our return, the cabinet doors opened and we were offered everything from about 30-50 years of alcoholism. we aquired the following:
1 bottle Paul Mason Champagne from the 70's - turned out bad.
1 bottle French Wine from the 70's - still awaiting opening.
2 decanters of whiskey with tax stamps from the 30's/40's - opened quickly after purchase and consumed.
1 heart shaped bottle of sherry - passed on to friend.
2 bottles of Hennessey Cognac - passed on to friends.
1 bottle of Cherry Brandy - to the right - silver leafed with a lable on the back stating a physical store address in Cuba - tax stamp of 1958.
We still have the Cherry Brandy and I haven't ever really done any research on what it is, where it's from, etc? I've always thought of taking it to antique's roadshow, but then ignored that thought. Anyone out there in internetland knwo what this is? Any thoughts on where to find more information on it?
Why do I post this now? Lately, we have enjoyed some amazing wine. We have some bottles of wine that we've had since our marriage and I wonder if they've peaked and should we finally open them and enjoy them. Same with this Cherry Brandy - should we go ahead and open it and enjoy it? Should we indulge?
It appears the rain may subside this week. Pray for sun.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Mississippi commons Bridge City Comics
today was a good day for walking. not neccessarily a good day for work, but i'll chat about that later. if when reading this something doesn't make sense, accept that the C key on the laptop isn't working well. i decided to walk up to see my buddy the Red Ball in The Pearl (john hausman voice.) i had a smile on my face, i was chatting with my mum on the phone, it was not raining- what else coule one ask for. i did discover i missed my nephews birthday - bad brett!
after the red ball, the pearl, lunch and a few more hours @ work, i met with my buddy to grab some munchies and drink. i recently watched Sideways and am a sucker for good wine. Jakey and i ended up @ Gotham Tavern, a new locale on N. Interstate and N. Borthwick. Wow, a great place. After a couple glasses of wine and some great conversation with the bartender, we were sold. we'll be back again. mmmmmm yummy pinot noir.
after wine, i had to hit the comic store. jakey dropped me off @ bridge city comics where i picked up Sin City #3 graphic novel and Y the last man graphic novels. i then proceeded to chat with michael and cameron for about 40 minutes. i'm likin' growing this relationship with the comic store owners. weeeee.
i then proceeded to Lorenzo's to grab some takeout and then home.
along the way, i couldn't help by photog the Star Wars display @ Sunlan Lighting. someone put some extra work on putting these lego creations together. well done.
after the red ball, the pearl, lunch and a few more hours @ work, i met with my buddy to grab some munchies and drink. i recently watched Sideways and am a sucker for good wine. Jakey and i ended up @ Gotham Tavern, a new locale on N. Interstate and N. Borthwick. Wow, a great place. After a couple glasses of wine and some great conversation with the bartender, we were sold. we'll be back again. mmmmmm yummy pinot noir.
after wine, i had to hit the comic store. jakey dropped me off @ bridge city comics where i picked up Sin City #3 graphic novel and Y the last man graphic novels. i then proceeded to chat with michael and cameron for about 40 minutes. i'm likin' growing this relationship with the comic store owners. weeeee.
i then proceeded to Lorenzo's to grab some takeout and then home.
along the way, i couldn't help by photog the Star Wars display @ Sunlan Lighting. someone put some extra work on putting these lego creations together. well done.
Red Ball Project NW Portland
Red Ball, oh Red Ball. I am so glad to see you this nice dry day. the rain held off until i was able to get up to NW 14th and Glisan. i'm so glad you decided to stay in Portland overnight. Where did you stay? Doug Fir? Mallory?
M.S. Glass. i'm surprised you chose this locale for our meeting. also, who invited these yahoos? when i arrived, i wasn't able to be alone with you and chill. i really wanted to go over that new business plan we put together..i mean I put together. like yesterday, you looked a bit cramped. i'm excited to have met your "father." he's pretty cool and maybe we can get to know each other better tomorrow or friday.
I also enjoyed the walk to The Pearl (john hausman voice.)
More to come from the treo.
M.S. Glass. i'm surprised you chose this locale for our meeting. also, who invited these yahoos? when i arrived, i wasn't able to be alone with you and chill. i really wanted to go over that new business plan we put together..i mean I put together. like yesterday, you looked a bit cramped. i'm excited to have met your "father." he's pretty cool and maybe we can get to know each other better tomorrow or friday.
I also enjoyed the walk to The Pearl (john hausman voice.)
More to come from the treo.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Red Ball 2005
Welcome to Portland Red Ball. Yesterday you visited City Hall and I waved, but you didn't wave back. I chose then not to photograph you because you may have been feeling a bit nervous out in the open as you were. I told all my friends about you - how your color was vibrant and you smiled and didn't mind the rain. Granted, you were under cover the first day in town also. When I heard you were going to be down the street, I had to come by again and say hi and see if you wanted a coffee. Alas, there were others about and I felt a bit shy about chatting you up. You look like you lost weight. I'm glad. It did look a bit cramped in there. Hopefully no one came by asking for a smoke. I'm not sure where you would put them if you had them.
I just read in the interweb that you are still in town. Excellent! I am going to be out tomorrow walking, maybe we can run into each other and chat. Love you Red Ball, you are so red...
BTW, bo is singing Freebird!
I just read in the interweb that you are still in town. Excellent! I am going to be out tomorrow walking, maybe we can run into each other and chat. Love you Red Ball, you are so red...
BTW, bo is singing Freebird!
The Palms Motel
I had to tell you about this. A local hotel has a website - OMG! I live off N. Interstate, Portland's original freeway. When driving up N. Interstate blvd, you drive by an assortment of older motels/hotels with an array of signage. Most of these motels are old and run down and cater to a specific clientele who require cheap rooms for the night or week. The Palms by far has the best signage except for The Alibi Restaurant on N. Shaver/Interstate. I can't beleive they have a cool web presence. They offer free TV, a jacuzzi, and HBO - wee. I'm just stunned.
Photos of The Palms @ night:
Photos of The Palms @ night:
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Before....
today, i chose to stay close to home. back in winter, (when it was sunny, dry and warm) i chose to start a fateful project. i made the fateful decision thinking that the rain would never come. we're in oregon brett! our domicile is from 1890. we've done some serious work to the house, but each project is a small step to the end product. the project on the right is our mudroom. over the past few years, we've had some birds and wasps crashing in our soffit because they were 110 years old and cupped. before birds took nest again, i chose to tear the trim boards and soffits down. boy did i find some treasures. one whole portion of the mudroom was full of old wasp nests. some may have been dormant. i was scared.
well, guess what - the next day it began raining and hasn't stopped. with no gutters, the rain just flows off the roof, onto the driveway and into the basement.... not really.....yes really.....not really......
today, i got back out there and installed new soffits and trim boards. it wasn't easy as there was some "old" issues to deal with. what i thought would take only a couple of hours took me the whole day. i only screwed up with measuring once and didn't injure myself at all. after 6 hours, lunch, 2 sheets of plywood, a few 6" x 1" boards, i was just worn out. also, i was out of supplies. some joy came out of this - i got to use power tools like circular saws, table saws and sawsaws. i got to use 2 different kinds of nail guns, including a contractor nailer like the one mel gibson used on lethal weapon 1 to kill the bad guy. the dogs even came out to help me. below is a kinda "after."
to put a cool ass spin on this - while i was working on the ladder, i looked down to the bird bath and our resident bluebird was in there taking a bath. trouble was - the water was old and dirty. i proceeded to clean the bath out and re-fill it will new water. after awhile, i was concerned i had upset some balance because bluey wasn't around. while i was cleaning up though, bluey was back giving himself a bath. it was great.
well, guess what - the next day it began raining and hasn't stopped. with no gutters, the rain just flows off the roof, onto the driveway and into the basement.... not really.....yes really.....not really......
today, i got back out there and installed new soffits and trim boards. it wasn't easy as there was some "old" issues to deal with. what i thought would take only a couple of hours took me the whole day. i only screwed up with measuring once and didn't injure myself at all. after 6 hours, lunch, 2 sheets of plywood, a few 6" x 1" boards, i was just worn out. also, i was out of supplies. some joy came out of this - i got to use power tools like circular saws, table saws and sawsaws. i got to use 2 different kinds of nail guns, including a contractor nailer like the one mel gibson used on lethal weapon 1 to kill the bad guy. the dogs even came out to help me. below is a kinda "after."
to put a cool ass spin on this - while i was working on the ladder, i looked down to the bird bath and our resident bluebird was in there taking a bath. trouble was - the water was old and dirty. i proceeded to clean the bath out and re-fill it will new water. after awhile, i was concerned i had upset some balance because bluey wasn't around. while i was cleaning up though, bluey was back giving himself a bath. it was great.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Asian super costco
Uwajimaya - what else can i say. i don't mean to be at all insensative - no offense meant. today, after some walking and much needed procrastinating, we headed west to checkoug what some refer to as "Asian market disneyland."
But first...our morning began slowly as we chose to sleep in for the first time in 5 days. it was glorious. after waking and washing and starting coffee, we decided we didn't really want to stay in so we headed over to mississippi for some breakfast. at the corner of mississippi and skidmore, anna suggested the thai restaurant - being 10:30, it was not on the table. ack. our walk down mississippi took us to Gravy (too crowded), Bold Sky (closed - as you should be on saturday morning @ 10:30am), and then to Muddy's Coffee House (didn't offer what we wanted.) on the way, we said hi to the chickens @ Pistal's Nursery and then shuffled in to Salty's Dog Shoppe in Mississippi Commons. little did we know, she was actually open yet - we were 5 minutes early. i liked it and we plan on returning. so, where was I? well, we're still hungry and n. mississippi was not sating our hunger. at this time, anna suggested the thai restaurant again, so we cruised back up there and realized it wasn't open until 11:30. it was now 10:50, so we needed to occupy our time. we needed some coffee, so proceeded up n. mississippi/albina to killingsworth by PCC to Abby Cafe. it seemed a proper locale as by the time we went there and back, the thai restaurant would be open. we were dissapointed in the Abby Cafe. anna ordered a non-fat iced latte and they screwed it up. how do you screw up the difference between fat and not fat milk? also, the guy was a bit off - we weren't sure what his story was. probably won't go back.
on the return trip, we went down n. borthwik to skidmore. n. borthwick is a great quiet street. one house had a euphorbia the size of a vw beetle (1960's era.) not only that, but a few houses down, there was another euphobia the size if monaco....
after much needed substanence of thai food, we got back home and decided we needed to get Frodo a collar - i won't go into the details, but it was like shopping for the perfect pair of shoes - he just wasn't satisfied with our choices.
Uwajimaya- i'm finally there. Uwajimaya is an amazing place. everything you would ever need in an asian market they had. candy, dishes, a bookstore, utensils, noodles, sauces, etc. i was overwhelmed. think of the local asian market and times it by 100. we spent a good hour there going down every isle to make sure we took it all in. i did have my camera, but felt a bit strange taking photos of everything.
ever hear of jack daniel's coffee?
But first...our morning began slowly as we chose to sleep in for the first time in 5 days. it was glorious. after waking and washing and starting coffee, we decided we didn't really want to stay in so we headed over to mississippi for some breakfast. at the corner of mississippi and skidmore, anna suggested the thai restaurant - being 10:30, it was not on the table. ack. our walk down mississippi took us to Gravy (too crowded), Bold Sky (closed - as you should be on saturday morning @ 10:30am), and then to Muddy's Coffee House (didn't offer what we wanted.) on the way, we said hi to the chickens @ Pistal's Nursery and then shuffled in to Salty's Dog Shoppe in Mississippi Commons. little did we know, she was actually open yet - we were 5 minutes early. i liked it and we plan on returning. so, where was I? well, we're still hungry and n. mississippi was not sating our hunger. at this time, anna suggested the thai restaurant again, so we cruised back up there and realized it wasn't open until 11:30. it was now 10:50, so we needed to occupy our time. we needed some coffee, so proceeded up n. mississippi/albina to killingsworth by PCC to Abby Cafe. it seemed a proper locale as by the time we went there and back, the thai restaurant would be open. we were dissapointed in the Abby Cafe. anna ordered a non-fat iced latte and they screwed it up. how do you screw up the difference between fat and not fat milk? also, the guy was a bit off - we weren't sure what his story was. probably won't go back.
on the return trip, we went down n. borthwik to skidmore. n. borthwick is a great quiet street. one house had a euphorbia the size of a vw beetle (1960's era.) not only that, but a few houses down, there was another euphobia the size if monaco....
after much needed substanence of thai food, we got back home and decided we needed to get Frodo a collar - i won't go into the details, but it was like shopping for the perfect pair of shoes - he just wasn't satisfied with our choices.
Uwajimaya- i'm finally there. Uwajimaya is an amazing place. everything you would ever need in an asian market they had. candy, dishes, a bookstore, utensils, noodles, sauces, etc. i was overwhelmed. think of the local asian market and times it by 100. we spent a good hour there going down every isle to make sure we took it all in. i did have my camera, but felt a bit strange taking photos of everything.
ever hear of jack daniel's coffee?
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Honey, can I get this?
Being always on the lookout for "the deal," I came accross this on Craigslist. Please Please? It's freeeeeee.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Big ups to my cuz.
I have a cousin - Christina - who is celebrating a wonderful night tonight. According to what I know, she is a producer on Knievel's Wild Ride which premiers tonight on A&E. I'm excited. I didn't grow up with my 1st cousins as they all lived in the midwest. I grew up with my 2nd cousins who grew up in Dallas OR and Cottage Grove. Christina's family is close to my heart as they always included our family in thier holiday celebrations. Further, Christina's dad was the first to offer skeet shooting after Christmas dinner. (my sis was the best shot that day) Also, Christina's mother carries on some old world traditions (Lefsa) when it comes to family get togethers. I'm soo excited for Chrissi and congratulations from our side of the family.
reminds me of france
have i already shown you this? i was walking at lunch today down 10th and pointed this building out to my walking buddy- julie. i mentioned that this building's copper roof and top floor remind me of something out of france.
Petra, a lonly prostitute, works the streets of old town between 7 pm and 3am. Her tricks allow her to pay off the security in this building and get to the stairwell which allows her to squat on the top floor along with other excentric transients. Most of them have late night responsibilites, so they use the space for sleep and safety during the daytime. At night, it becomes a pseudo commune. One man in 13b owns a guitar and a woman in 23f has a keyboard. Together they create the most amazing music- mostly show tunes which the others know and join in. Petra's piece de resistance is a tune from Les Miserables that she sung in grammer school as a young child..........
who knew?
i digres.......
Petra, a lonly prostitute, works the streets of old town between 7 pm and 3am. Her tricks allow her to pay off the security in this building and get to the stairwell which allows her to squat on the top floor along with other excentric transients. Most of them have late night responsibilites, so they use the space for sleep and safety during the daytime. At night, it becomes a pseudo commune. One man in 13b owns a guitar and a woman in 23f has a keyboard. Together they create the most amazing music- mostly show tunes which the others know and join in. Petra's piece de resistance is a tune from Les Miserables that she sung in grammer school as a young child..........
who knew?
i digres.......
Railway building
Today started out good. I've been assigned to a new project and new responsibilities etc. Everything has been vague for a little over a month, yet last week, things began to gel. I awoke this morning around 5:30 and actually did some work. That may not surprise some, but others know me and I am the first to observe the 8-5 rules of work. So... getting up to do some work is outside the scope of my life. What I am trying to say is that I felt excited and energized about the task at hand. The day progressed positively until around 2:15pm. At that time, in a meeting, it was implied that something I was excited to pursue was a pipe dream for me - and it was put that way by an individual who is in the know. Pardon the vaugueness, but co-workers may read this blog. Needless to say, I left work in a shitty mood. A bit depressed, a bit frustrated. I decided to do some walking. I had hit Whole Foods for lunch to get some cereal and rice milk, so had a full bag. I proceeded to cruise down Yamhill to 2nd and then over towards old town. There were drips in the air, but nothing that would make me melt. I needed the time to think and resolve the issues going through my head. I ended up down off 1st ave where some of the galleries were. I had missed MAX, so kept walking toward the next stop @ Skidmore Fountain. That is when I saw the Railway building- noted to the right. The Railway Building was built in 1872 and became the Scottish Bank Building in 1876. Other than the plaque on the front of the building, that is all I know. Being on 1st ave, it is safe to believe it was a locale that was integral in Portland's early days.
What I love about this and other old buildings is the detail work done by the masons. Atop the building is men's heads as reliefs. Also, built into the lower parts of the building are cast iron pieces. One thing many people don't know about Portland history is that Captain Ankeny, a Portland Founder was integral in the building and growth of what is now old town. Ankeny was a leader in building buildings using cast iron instead of brick. Cast Iron was easier to assemble as it was pre-fab. It required fewer workers and could be errected faster. It looks like stone when painted.
Well, that's today's lesson in Portland buildings and walking. Hope you enjoyed...
What I love about this and other old buildings is the detail work done by the masons. Atop the building is men's heads as reliefs. Also, built into the lower parts of the building are cast iron pieces. One thing many people don't know about Portland history is that Captain Ankeny, a Portland Founder was integral in the building and growth of what is now old town. Ankeny was a leader in building buildings using cast iron instead of brick. Cast Iron was easier to assemble as it was pre-fab. It required fewer workers and could be errected faster. It looks like stone when painted.
Well, that's today's lesson in Portland buildings and walking. Hope you enjoyed...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Comments on comments
Couple of comments - if you post a comment and would like a reply, please either post an email address or email me directly with your question. I will respond. To Nancy - Salty's Dog Shop does have a flyer in thier window regarding job openings. We have met the owner and she is a fellow small dog owner and dog lover. She also lives around the corner.... Thanks. B.
NoPo and comments on the rain
ok, so we had a guest in town for the weekend from up north. as good nopo-ers we took her down mississippi to show off our hood. weeeeee. i am the first to say - I LOVE N. MISSISSIPPI in PORTLAND OREGON!!!!! we began our walk looking for lunch and cruised all the way down to Mississippi commons, the newest rework on the street. I have noted about the building lately. we had lunch @ lorenzo's - yum! then we walked over to Bridge City Comics to welcome them to the neighborhood. it turns out the owners and us have mutual friends @ Dark Horse. WOW, portland is a small town. The locale is great. Michael, the owner set it up to be very open and welcoming. Also, being a former employee of the biz, he has a great insight into what's out there. we picked up some Sandman, 100 Bullets and a new one about Sarejevo during the siege. I'm excited about the new store and the prospects of building a freindship with the owners. we also checked out Blue Gardenia, a new coffee shop and bakery - yum.
so, my brother hipped me to fishing awhile ago. yes, i am now excited about weekends because of the possibility of fishing. just last week, we had some family caught sturgeon for din din. last time we were out - in early march - i was commenting on how i was loving our winter - sun, dry, warm etc. he countered with the statement - would you like this winter or would you like to catch fish? not sure how much science is behind this- my brother proffered that without the rain, the rivers did not have the fresh water they needed to support fish. in essence, the water was stagnant. i can see how that would happen. also, the water was colder than normal as a result of no fresh water - i.e. rain. whether my bro is right or not isn't the point. my point is he saw the value of rain as an environmental issue - well done. well, the rain came and it hasn't stopped. argh. i began some outside projects a few weeks ago assuming the rain season had come and gone. now, i am wet as a result of that. and it looks like it is going to rain this week toooooo......
what do i do? part of me is fine with accepting the rain and chilling inside, watching movies, doing laundry, etc. another part of me is antsy about getting out and doing something. i think i may just say fuck it and go outside and get wet to accomplish my task. here is what's on deck: planting gladiola bulbs, mow, weed, create walking paths, install soffits in mudroom, install new trim on mudroom, re-attach gutters - see where i'm going? argh - toooooo much to doooooo.
well, late night ramblings finished. thanks.
also, pour a 40 for the pope - godspeed good man.
so, my brother hipped me to fishing awhile ago. yes, i am now excited about weekends because of the possibility of fishing. just last week, we had some family caught sturgeon for din din. last time we were out - in early march - i was commenting on how i was loving our winter - sun, dry, warm etc. he countered with the statement - would you like this winter or would you like to catch fish? not sure how much science is behind this- my brother proffered that without the rain, the rivers did not have the fresh water they needed to support fish. in essence, the water was stagnant. i can see how that would happen. also, the water was colder than normal as a result of no fresh water - i.e. rain. whether my bro is right or not isn't the point. my point is he saw the value of rain as an environmental issue - well done. well, the rain came and it hasn't stopped. argh. i began some outside projects a few weeks ago assuming the rain season had come and gone. now, i am wet as a result of that. and it looks like it is going to rain this week toooooo......
what do i do? part of me is fine with accepting the rain and chilling inside, watching movies, doing laundry, etc. another part of me is antsy about getting out and doing something. i think i may just say fuck it and go outside and get wet to accomplish my task. here is what's on deck: planting gladiola bulbs, mow, weed, create walking paths, install soffits in mudroom, install new trim on mudroom, re-attach gutters - see where i'm going? argh - toooooo much to doooooo.
well, late night ramblings finished. thanks.
also, pour a 40 for the pope - godspeed good man.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Dizzee Rascal
What can I say? Our second show @ The Doug Fir this week. Dizzee Rascal is pretty amazing. Started out in London's pirate radio as a teenager, released his first album before he turned 18 and won the Mercury prize for it. He now has two albums out and they are great. People are classify his music as "Grime." Not sure why. He's quick with the words and his strong British accent adds to the fun. Dizzee put on a great show with DJ Wonder spinning for him. The crowd was great - dancing and singing along. I love being a d.i.n.k.
Walk down to the POD
Over on laurabush.info, blog always writes about "the Pod." The Pod is a parking lot on SW 5th ave that has been turned into an outside food court with numerous food options. All of the food is servered from carts or winnies or the back of trucks. My favorite of the restaurants is Tabor - a Czech locale. They have some amazing food. I've tried the goulash and the Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich. The sandwich is amazing. It's a healthy chicken breast that is lightly breaded - ala schnitzel - with romaine lettus, paprika spread and another topping all between a fresh roll. You gotta try it. The rest of my lunch took me walking around puddletown and down to some galleries on 1st ave - Attic Gallery is pretty cool. Then over to Stumptown for a latte.
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